The innovation of using steam-bent wood for his furniture, instead of the heavy traditional carved wooden pieces available at that time, helped to ensure that designers and decorators alike know Michael Thonet’s work, and the company is still going strong, 150 years later. And now it seems that Thonet is making a bit of a move outside their usual domain with this collaboration which shows off the natural beauty of the beechwood frame with beautiful steam-bent curves.

The innovation of using steam-bent wood for his furniture, instead of the heavy traditional carved wooden pieces available at that time, helped to ensure that designers and decorators alike know Michael Thonet’s work, and the company is still going strong, 150 years later. And now it seems that Thonet is making a bit of a move outside their usual domain with this collaboration which shows off the natural beauty of the beechwood frame with beautiful steam-bent curves.

While the design is stunning at first glance, after a closer look there seems to be a number of questionable features of the bike, including the odd steering mechanism (which would seem to be both questionably functional and possibly a dangerously weak point of the bike), the bottom bracket and rear dropouts (which also seem to be kind of sketchy in terms of strength and reliability, considering the stresses on the cranks and drive train, especially on a fixie), and the choice of carbon fiber wheels for a bike with such an organic design appeal.

While the design is stunning at first glance, after a closer look there seems to be a number of questionable features of the bike, including the odd steering mechanism (which would seem to be both questionably functional and possibly a dangerously weak point of the bike), the bottom bracket and rear dropouts (which also seem to be kind of sketchy in terms of strength and reliability, considering the stresses on the cranks and drive train, especially on a fixie), and the choice of carbon fiber wheels for a bike with such an organic design appeal.